Circle Of Death by the German veteran map maker
sst13 is a 6-8 players capture the flag map
relying on a clean and immersive Strogg fortress theme. Each team's base
consists of a 2 story flag room with a more separated basement
underneath. The basement areas are neighbouring low paths going
alongside the mid area offering a jumppad connection to the middle of
the map and ending in a teleporter connection that leads you close to
the main powerup spawn. The flag rooms themselves are directly connected
to the center map which is defined by an octagonal pillar holding the
Red Armor spawn.

The level provides an outstanding visual experience achieved with very
little means - and this is by no means negative. The file size of less
than 6MB seems like a magic trick when you are walking through the
carefully designed areas of the map which offer well thought through
geometry as well as a good set of textures that makes the whole
appearance look truly coherent. Ambient fog in deep pits of death as
well as the excessive vertical scale of the geometry provide a little
bit of a monolithic atmosphere catching your eye in a lot of situations.
Soft and well placed lights do not only provide a clear orientation on
the map but also support the already immersive design and make this
level be without equal among all the Strogg themed releases I have
played so far in Quake 3.

Judging the gameplay I unfortunately came to the conclusion that the
first impression from the screenshots I had seen during the beta promise
more than what is eventually offered. On the map you can find all
weapons minus the LG and the BFG; 1 yellow armor and 4 shards per base
plus the Red Armor in the center. Due to the generally large scale and
the construction of the layout I occasionally found myself having to
take detours to find a decent weapon to attack.

My main critic point is that while the map does not actually have an
overflow of different areas and is not too complex the general scale
makes it seem like a giant. This has negative effects on the gameplay as
with the dominance of wide areas and the lack of choke points projectile
weapons with splash damage become practically useless. Since the map
does not contain a lightning gun this is going to be extra problematic
as it is making it difficult to counter the Railgun on mid range
distances.

Regarding flow, the level has totally met my expectations, you can move
around fluently without any interruption due to poor geometry decisions
or narrowness. The only thing that I would potentially criticize is the
basement area below the flag as well as the lower corridor connected to
it. The Yellow Armor in the basement is practically useless for the
defender as, due to the lack of an upwards connection, they would have
to leave the flag alone for a long time when going for it. For the same
reason, the route can not be used as an attack route for the enemy team
- even with a Rocketump it is not easy to reach the flag ground. As a
result the area feels a bit like an under-connected one way passage.

All in all, this is a release you definitely want to download and play.
You might not want to keep it for the gameplay but the visual
presentation and atmosphere make this a map you do not want to miss out
on. Additionally you should take the time to investigate on the well
planned and nicely executed secrets this map provides!